1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mast raising aids and more specifically it relates to a sailboat mast stepping system for efficiently using mechanical aids to raise or lower the mast of a sailboat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mast raising aids have been in use for years. Typically, sailboats would be of a larger variety that would stay in the water for an entire season or even years at a time without having to remove them from the water and trailer them to storage. Because these larger boats would stay in the water for long periods of time and could be stored next to the water easily, stepping down a mast was rarely done.
In recent years, trailerable cruising sailboats became more common. These types of boats allowed for a person to go sailing on many different lakes or parts of bodies of water that were inaccessible before due to the logistics of moving a sailboat. The difficulty with using these trailerable cruising sailboats was that they are not trailerable without stepping down the mast. Unstepping a mast was a multiple person job and a large chore for a one day sailing excursion.
Another problem aside from trailering was trying to pass under a low bridge while sailing. With the mast stepped up, it was difficult to step the mast down and then step the mast up on the other side of the bridge again.
In these respects, the sailboat mast stepping system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of efficiently using mechanical aids to raise or lower the mast of a sailboat.